Rahul Gandhi, a Congress MP, has challenged an order from the special judge (MP-MLA) court in Varanasi by filing an appeal in the Allahabad High Court. The lower court had directed a case related to a request for an FIR against Rahul Gandhi to the ACJM court. This case stems from a comment Gandhi made in 2024 regarding Sikhs in America.
The hearing is scheduled for today and will be presided over by a bench led by Justice Samir Jain. A Varanasi resident, Nageshwar Mishra, filed an application before the Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate (MP-MLA) of Varanasi. The ACJM court had previously dismissed this application on November 28, 2024, which had sought an FIR against Rahul Gandhi.
The court had ruled that the matter was beyond its jurisdiction because the speech in question took place in America. After the case was dismissed, Rao challenged the decision in the revision court, which accepted his appeal and instructed the ACJM to conduct a fresh hearing on the matter.
The incident that led to this legal action occurred in September 2024. At an event in the United States, Rahul Gandhi purportedly stated that the conditions were not favorable for Sikhs in India. This statement drew considerable criticism and was considered provocative and divisive.
Nageshwar Mishra, a resident of Varanasi, initially tried to file an FIR at the Sarnath police station in Varanasi. When this attempt failed, he pursued legal action by filing an application in court to compel an FIR against Rahul Gandhi. On November 28, 2024, the judicial magistrate dismissed this application, citing a lack of jurisdiction as the speech was given in America.
Following this, Nageshwar Mishra appealed to the sessions court, which accepted his revision petition on July 21, 2025. Rahul Gandhi has now filed a revision petition in the Allahabad High Court, asserting that the Varanasi court’s order is flawed, unlawful, and exceeded its jurisdictional authority.